Dear Karly,
Fall is fully here and as you settle in for cozy times, it's a great time to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for. If you’ve had the chance to get outside on an autumn walk through Forest Park, one of Portland’s many neighborhood parks, or even your closest tree-lined neighborhood street, you’ll feel especially close to the turn of the seasons. The leaves are changing colors, the mushrooms are out, and the understory is lush from fresh rain.
It’s no accident that nature is so easy to find in our city. The integration of nature into the urban landscape is the result of ongoing and strategic advocacy to ensure that the City prioritizes our natural resources. This year has been an especially big year for environmental advocacy, with three major victories to celebrate in 2025. We started off the year with a decisive win with the denial of PGE’s Harborton Reliability Project, where the City Council unanimously voted to protect critical habitat in Forest Park from development. In the fall, City Council passed the Urban Forest Plan, which sets goals for how the City will expand and care for all trees across the City. And just a couple of weeks ago, Portlanders voted to pass the Parks Levy, a proposal that was crafted and campaigned for by City Council and will help maintain and steward our cherished public park system.
Time and time again, advocates have shown up to urge City Council to protect our city’s natural resources. And it has worked! City Council has by and large listened to the community voice, and voted in favor of nature when it has mattered most. Thank you for your advocacy.
Now, we encourage you to pass this thank you along to your City Councilors. If you aren’t a City of Portland resident, you can still thank them, as their votes benefit the whole region's wildlife and connected ecosystems. We are grateful to have had them as allies in these victories, so let’s tell them how much their environmental advocacy means to us. Protecting the environment today is a generational gift for the Portlanders of tomorrow.
Click here to connect with your District 1 Councilors
Click here to connect with your District 2 Councilors
Click here to connect with your District 3 Councilors
Click here to connect with your District 4 Councilors
Not a City of Portland resident? Click here to connect to all City Councilors
Not sure which District you’re in? Click here to find out.